Cody Ransom Rumors

The Brewers have claimed infielder Cody Ransom off of waivers from the Diamondbacks, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. Ransom has played 100 MLB games at shortstop, so he provides the Brewers with depth alongside Cesar Izturis. The Brewers confirmed the claim, announcing that they've optioned Edwin Maysonetto the minors and moved Alex Gonzalez to the 60-day disabled list in corresponding moves.

Ransom posted a .269/.345/.577 batting line in 58 plate appearances with the Diamondbacks this year, but they removed him from the 40-man roster earlier this week by designating him for assignment. The 36-year-old played third base and shortstop, the same two positions he appeared at in 2011. Haudricourt reported earlier today that the Brewers were interested in adding shortstop help and Ransom's a fit since he has played more games at shortstop than at any other position. He has a .226/.310/.409 batting line in parts of ten seasons at the MLB level.

The Diamondbacks announced that they designated infielder Cody Ransom for assignment (Twitter link). The team will recall infielder Josh Bell from Triple-A Reno in a corresponding move. Arizona now has two open 40-man roster spots.

Ransom, 36, posted a .269/.345/.577 batting line in 58 plate appearances with the Diamondbacks this year. He played third base and shortstop, the same two positions he appeared at in 2011. Ransom has a .226/.310/.409 batting line in parts of ten seasons at the MLB level.

The Diamondbacks re-signed veteran Cody Ransomto a minor league deal, writes Tom Singer of MLB.com. In 101 games with Triple-A Reno last season, Ransom hit .317/.405/.629 with 27 homers. The 35-year-old also had 33 at-bats with Arizona's varsity squad.

SATURDAY: Ransom has accepted his assignment to Triple-A Reno, according to Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com (via Twitter).

WEDNESDAY: The D'Backs announced that they designated infielder Cody Ransom to create 25-man roster space for Aaron Hill and John McDonald. The first roster spot opened up yesterday, when Arizona sent Kelly Johnson to Toronto in the deal that brought Hill and McDonald to the National League. The D'Backs now have full 25 and 40-man rosters.

Ransom, 35, appeared in 12 games for Arizona this year, hitting .152/.243/.303 in his 37 trips to the plate. He played short and third in 2011 and also has big league experience at first, second and left field. A nine-year veteran, Ransom has a .220/.304/.383 line in 383 career plate appearances.

The Diamondbacks have signed Cody Ransom, according to MLB.com's transactions page. The veteran utility infielder has a career .702 OPS accumulated over eight Major League seasons with the Giants, Astros, Yankees and, most recently, the Phillies.

Ransom, who turns 35 in February, is a native of Mesa, Arizona. He is the second utilityman the D'Backs have signed in the past week, following their acquisition of Willie Bloomquist. This could be a minor league depth move for the Snakes, since the club already has Bloomquist, Tony Abreu, Ryan Roberts and others battling for a backup infield spot.

12 years ago on this date, the Rangers sent Darren Oliver, Fernando Tatis, and Mark Little to the Cardinals for Royce Clayton and Todd Stottlemyre. Tatis was amazing in '99, while Oliver was solid as a starting pitcher. Clayton was pretty good for the Rangers, and Stottlemyre left as a free agent after the '98 season. For their loss, the Rangers got a supplemental draft pick in '99 and took a kid named Colby Lewis. Here in 2010, Lewis and Oliver are both Rangers again and make an excellent combo. Links for Monday…

The utility man can play all four infield positions, but hasn't hit much in his MLB career. In 346 plate appearances picked up over the course of eight seasons, Ransom has a .227/.311/.391 line. He has a little power and did hit two homers for the Phillies this year, but didn't do much more than that in his 46 trips to the plate.

Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic spoke to Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick about the dismissal of Josh Byrnes, who said he consulted "respected baseball people" from around the league and heard that the team's farm system is devoid of top-shelf talent.

MLBTR's own Eddie Schmid started posting this special little feature a couple weeks ago and it drew a nice response. I'm just a thief. This day in MLBTR history: On June 23, 2008, the bidding war was heating up for 16-year-old pitching phenom Michael Inoa. He, of course, eventually signed with the Oakland A's.

A couple more links for Tuesday evening…

Marc Craig of the Newark Star-Ledger notes that Cody Ransom's 60-day stay on the disabled list will end Wednesday. At that point, the Yankees either have to add him to the 25-man roster or designate him for assignment and risk losing him to another club.

The Boston Globe's Bob Ryan is almost ready to call Daisuke Matsuzaka a bust. The Japanese import is 1-5 this season with an 8.23 ERA and 2.20 WHIP. Sure, he was solid last year, but keep in mind the Red Sox shelled out $103MM to land him.

Matthew Pouliot of NBCSports.com and Rotoworld fame lists 10 outfielders who are "most likely to be traded" this season. Matt Holliday tops the list, followed closely by Ryan Spilborghs, Jeff Francoeur and Cody Ross.

As the fellas over at "The Rays Party" point out, 2005 first-round pick Wade Townsendhas decided to call it a career. The right-hander out of Rice University battled all sorts of injuries during his four-year minor league campaign.

The Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck suggests a few moves the Orioles could make at the trade deadline. "Keep Aubrey Huff… Listen to offers for George Sherrill… Don't listen to offers for Cesar Izturis," he writes.